


To Hell and Back

by dralexreid



Series: Dr Piper Bishop [34]
Category: Criminal Minds (US TV)
Genre: Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Assault, Blood and Gore, F/M, Kidnapping, Pigs, Violence
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-17
Updated: 2020-10-17
Packaged: 2021-03-09 05:29:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Underage
Chapters: 2
Words: 10,418
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27059527
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dralexreid/pseuds/dralexreid
Relationships: Dr Spencer Reid/Dr Piper Bishop
Series: Dr Piper Bishop [34]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1972852
Kudos: 18





	1. To Hell

Derek narrowed his eyes at Piper’s cheerful behaviour. It was like she was floating as she hummed, dutifully doing her paperwork. _Time to annoy her._ He flaunted over to her, perching on her desk. “Hey, angel.”

“Yes, demon-spawn. How may I be of service?” Piper beamed at him while he made a show of being injured. Emily whacked him on the head as she walked past to get to her own desk and Spencer smirked at his best friend while passing Piper her cup of tea.

“What, nothing for me pretty boy?” He pointed an accusatory finger at Piper. “You did this, turning my sweet brother against me using your… angelic wiles.” Piper laughed as she got up to follow JJ into the conference room

“Maybe it was just your devilish charm running out.” Spencer snickered and followed Derek inside.

“We have a case in Detroit.” Piper raised an eyebrow at the file in front of her while JJ briefed the team. “His name’s William Hightower. He claims over the past month, he’s picked 10 people off the streets of Detroit, killed them, dumped their bodies across the border in Canada.

“So, what’s the catch?” Derek asked.

“He hasn’t revealed the dumpsite. He’s demanded to speak to the FBI. We only have 48 hours to keep him detained.”

“Do we have confirmation these people are even missing?” Spencer asked.

“Two were reported missing by family months ago, but they all appear to be transients. We’re having a hard time finding any information on them.”

“Yeah, lot of state social services prefer making themselves look good on paper by neglecting the homeless,” Piper scoffed bitterly. “If they don’t keep tabs or records on them, who’s to say they exist?”

“Yeah, well, William Hightower’s background doesn’t suggest any of that. Until about 2 months ago, he was a sergeant in the US army. He did 2 tours in Iraq. Lost his left leg in a roadside ambush. He was discharged with a purple heart and a commendation for valour.”

“Here’s what I don’t get,” JJ stated. “He manages to get away with 10 murders, why crash the guard post?”

“Maybe he wanted the attention,” Derek answered.

“Could be an attempted suicide too,” Emily added.

“And maybe he was trying to take as many people with him as he could,” Rossi finished.

“It may also be a case of post-traumatic stress disorder,” Spencer added, twirling his pen as Piper nodded.

“PTSD has a myriad of effects,” Piper contributed. “It’s possible he perceived the border agents as threats, and he acted in accordance.”

“Do we think he’s legit?”

“I don’t know, but it’s too many bodies to risk,” Hotch explained. “We’ll discuss victimology on the jet. Wheels up in 20.” Piper sighed as she got up, taking the file with her. The seven agents divided into two SUVs and filed into the jet. 

Piper sat in front of Spencer going through her file while he plotted out key points. She tried to ignore the urge to sweep the hair out of his eyes, focusing on victimology instead. She carefully laid out the 10 photos and saw Garcia pop up on her laptop screen. “ _Hello, my lovelies.”_

“Garcia, he’s come home two months ago with an award and commendation,” Piper mused. “Do we have any record of what he’s been doing after?”

_“No, why?”_

“Well, a lot of war-wounded soldiers become disillusioned. They see a part of themselves lost in a war for a country that doesn’t care. But that doesn’t fit the crime.”

“It’s likelier he’ll show empathy for the transients rather than hatred,” Emily continued from the seat next to her, nodding.

“Unless he feels a compulsion to continue serving his country. Losing the leg could be a trigger for him,” Rossi suggested.

“Can’t re-enlist, most likely living off a veteran’s benefit, both situations could’ve overwhelmed him, creating a psychotic break,” Derek proposed.

“What about victimology?” Hotch’s direction prompted Emily.

“He definitely doesn’t have a type. The only consistency is that they were all abducted in the same area.”

“Yeah, what do we know about that?” JJ asked Spencer from her perch next to Rossi.

“It’s called the Cass Corridor. It’s right here,” he pointed to the map. “It has an extremely high concentration of drug trafficking, prostitution, and homeless people. All high-risk behaviour.”

“So, for this guy, maybe it’s more about opportunity than victimology,” Derek suggested.

“Morgan and Prentiss, when we land, I want you to head straight to Detroit. See if you hear anything in the whisper stream. I want to make sure we have a crime before we get too deeply into this.”

“I hear Detroit is beautiful in the spring,” Emily murmured to Derek.

“The rest of us will meet with the legal attaché before we hit the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.”

“Actually, sir," JJ interrupted, "the officer in charge said that his team was part of a fellowship the BAU gave to train police forces in profiling.”

“That was the first one we ever did,” Rossi reminisced. “Jeff Bedwell,” he recognised from the file.

“You know him?”

“Yeah.”

“Is he any good?”

“He better be. I trained him.” With their conference over, Piper left to grab a cup of coffee from the back of the plane, Spencer following him. He leaned against the counter while Piper poured two cups.

“So, should we get dinner when this is over?” Piper laughed, almost spilling the coffee.

“That’s one way of asking.” Giggles bubbled out of her as she spooned out 3 teaspoons of sugar for her and an extra for him.

“Oh, come on…please,” he pleaded, pouting.

“You know, we could ask Hotch for an extra day in Detroit, see the Detroit Historical Museum. You know they have those exhibitions on the Underground Railroad.” Piper had a gleam in her eye as she handed him his coffee.

“And then dinner?” She looked at his hopeful face.

“Yes,” she whispered before going over to sit next to Emily. Spencer tried to wipe the giddy smile off his face, sipping his coffee as he sat next to Derek. His buoyant feeling dissipated as the 5 agents entered the spacious office. Piper almost whistled at the sheer resources at their disposal. “Maybe we should go to Canada,” she whispered to JJ. “We could even get horses.” JJ snickered at Piper’s beaming smile.

“I’ve got a victim board and timelines set up on monitors in the conference room and you’ve got glass boards and unlimited markers. Anything you need, you’ve got the run of the place,” Bedwell announced as he walked them through to the conference room.

“We appreciate it,” Rossi thanked him.

“Don’t thank me. Thank the unsub. He’s the one that put you all in charge.” He motioned towards the ten victims on the board.

“I need to go talk to Garcia, see if she had any luck locating the family members,” JJ announced.

“And check records for multiple border crosses,” Hotch added. “See if we get any hits for the days the victims went missing.”

“Local PD didn’t know they were missing?” Piper asked Bedwell.

“More like they didn’t care.”

“Has he contacted family?” Bedwell looked at Rossi.

“Refuses a lawyer, too.”

“He’s in interrogation?”

“Waiting for us.” Hotch shared a look with Dave, as though pointing to a neon sign saying ‘US!’.

“This guy’s US army. He demanded to talk to the FBI. He’s not gonna want to talk to anyone but the person he thinks is in charge.”

“Of course. I’ll take you to him.”

While Hotch and Rossi took over the interrogation, the latter on standby to watch for behavioural cues, Spencer and Piper watched the security footage of the border incident frame by frame. They watched William drive through the check, then stop. When being called to move, they watched his speed off into a U-turn and take down the guard post. She leaned back in her chair, pulling out an apple from her bag. “It doesn’t look like PTSD.”

“It doesn’t.” Piper shook her head.

“Look at him. The entire time he is absolutely calm. There’s no hesitation except in that first moment.” Piper crunched into her apple.

“Which means, if he had wanted to kill them, he wouldn’t have stopped.” Spencer re-winded it to the beginning. “See how they all come outside to tell him to keep moving. Someone organised enough to kill 10 people wouldn’t do that.” Spencer smiled at Piper who beamed back. “I’m gonna go tell Hotch.” He kissed the top of her hair before rushing off.

“You look very happy today,” JJ smiled at Piper as she walked back in and she swallowed her mouthful.

“Did Penelope find the families?”

“A few but, they’re hard to track down.” JJ sat down where Spencer had been sitting moments ago. “What you said about social services, is that true?”

“It happens everywhere. No-one likes to admit they have a problem. It’s easier to just throw a blanket over the prostitution and drug deals happening under their noses.”

“And no-one notices?”

“More like no-one cares. Except for this guy.”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean, something isn’t adding up. He has photos of ten people from when they were alive, but none of them are post-mortem. There’s no evidence that these people are dead, just that they’re missing. He claims he killed them, but he doesn’t injure a single person in the crash. Instead, he waits for them all to leave the post before smashing into it.”

“What if he did it for attention like you said?”

“Wouldn’t you gain even more if you killed 5 border agents? A man who could commit these crimes, he’s remorseless, no sense of guilt because he’s organised. Sociopathic people are much more organised and rational with their killings.” Piper pointed her pen at the man kneeling in the laptop screen. “That’s not him.” JJ snorted.

“All that from a car crash? All I figured was that he wanted attention.”

“He does. That’s why he asked for us, specifically.” Piper bumped JJ’s shoulder, noticing her furrowed brow. “What’s up?”

“Something Emily said when she called me. I already told Hotch this but, he was out there every night, taking their photographs, checking off their names in a notebook. Sounds like he really cares about them.”

“Then our first theory was right. He empathises with them, wants to protect them.” JJ nodded.

“He’s protecting them by bringing us in,” JJ continued Piper’s line of thought. “Hoping that we can find them.” Piper and JJ got up, almost running to see Rossi, Hotch and Spencer.

“You guys find anything?” Rossi asked and Piper relayed what they found out. Hotch’s cell buzzed and he listened to the update before turning back to William.

“William… People don’t do what you did out of honour. They do it out of love. Who were you looking for on the streets every night?”

“I got home from Iraq. The first thing my mother told me was that my baby sister Lee was on the streets. She asked me to find her.”

“But you couldn’t?”

“I managed once. Brought her home. We got her fed. She even wore my dog tags… For good luck. Two weeks later, she slipped back onto the streets. That was it.”

“William, you’ve got so much information about the other potential victims. Why not Lee?”

“I hid it in a spare tire… In my car. I needed to wait until I was sure… That you were on board.” Spencer and Piper paired off to call Morgan and Garcia respectively. Penelope found it in a matter of minutes and Morgan managed to find the file and fax it over to Hotch as well as a voice-recorded message. Plugging it in, they listened to the last recorded message of Lee Hightower.

> _“Something bad is happening. It’s dark. I don’t know where he’s taking me.”_

“After that, the signal cuts out,” Hotch explained while Rossi helped JJ hand out lunch. “The same night she left her mom’s house.”

“Hightower called in an army favour,” Rossi explained. “They triangulated the call to a cell tower in Canada just over the border in Port Huron. It explains why he crossed into your jurisdiction.”

“It’s also a sure-fire way to get the FBI involved.” Hotch crossed his arms. “He knew we’d investigate an American citizen being held on multiple murder charges.”

“And you believe him?” Bedwell asked.

“I do.”

“Sir, I’ve got Garcia on line 2,” JJ announced and Hotch turned the answering machine on. “Go ahead, Garcia.”

_“Good news and bad news. I’ve got IDs on multiple border crosses for the dates in question. Trouble is, I’ve got hundreds, and as far as I can tell, if your license doesn’t ping for any prior felonies, you’re pretty much gonna pass go and collect 200 Canadian dollars.”_

“She’s right. Busiest cross in North America,” Bedwell explained. “Lot of commercial traffic, trucks mostly. Stop and searches would cause too many delays.”

“So, he’s got virtually free passage,” Rossi surmised.

“And once he crosses, there’s nothing but woods to hide whatever he’s doing,” Piper said, rubbing her face with a hand. “That’s not even our biggest problem.”

“What do you mean?” Hotch asked.

“Well, we have no idea how he’s doing this. There’s no visible MO and we don’t know enough about the victims. People are just dropping off the map.” Hotch nodded at Piper who seemed weary, the bags around her eyes more noticeable.

“There is someone who knows all the victims. Well enough to have photographed and identified them,” Rossi pointed out to Bedwell.

“You’re talking about releasing William? No, I can’t allow that. They’re not gonna let me turn William Hightower into a hero.”

“This unsub kills in 2- and 3-day cycles. Which means he’s about to go back out there, hunting.”

“Release him into FBI custody while he’s in Detroit,” Hotch proposed. “When the case is closed, he’ll be back under your jurisdiction.”

“Your shop, your call,” Rossi finished.

“Well… They can fire me if they want,” Bedwell relented. The team had learnt to make the most of any break they got on these cases. JJ took her lunch outside to call Will and Henry while Spencer finished another book in the half-hour break. Hotch kept looking over the file in a separate office with Bedwell, discussing strategy.

“He never rests, does he?” Piper looked to Rossi as she twirled her fork through their stir fry.

“Does crime?” Piper snorted, staring at her lunch. “Alright, spill. What’s on your mind?”

“You have siblings?” Piper asked, eyes fixated on her meal.

“Nup. An only child and thankful for it.” Piper smiled softly.

“I’ve got two. I’ve felt responsible for them my entire life and I always thought I was the only one, you know. I saw guys in high school completely ignoring their dork brothers or worse, bullying them. But then there’s him,” Piper reflected, pulling her hair back into a butterfly clip. “I’d tear the world apart to look for them. So would he.” She snorted humourlessly before digging into her meal.

“You know, people like him are rare. They decide that their life is more than just about them and they sacrifice everything for the people they love.” Rossi smiled at her gently before finishing off his own lunch. Piper slurped down the rest of her soda and helped Rossi clean up. Hotch entered just as Piper finished wiping down the table.

“We’ve got an update. Get the team.” Piper dutifully went to grab Spencer and JJ. When they came back, Piper smiled to see Garcia on the screen in all her sunshine yellow glory.

“Isn’t that a cheerful face?” Piper smiled. “What do you have for us, sunshine?”

“ _Well, since you asked so nicely, I’ll tell you. I checked Detroit crime reports over the last month because Derek and Emily astutely thought there might be some sorts of assaults or disturbances having to do with our unsub.”_

“And?”

_“Well, it’s tres weird, but on 5 of the abduction nights, Detroit PD reports a break-in or a robbery at some type of medical facility.”_

“What types of medical facilities?” Spencer asked.

_“We got a hospital, blood bank, medical supply company, the red cross—”_

“What’s he doing, stealing narcotics?” Rossi looked confused with a raised eyebrow.

_“That’s just it. He isn’t some drugstore cowboy. The stuff he took is, like, anaesthesia and sterilizing equipment and syringes. Negative on the narcota.”_

“Garcia, where were these places located?” Spencer pulled his map closer while Piper handed him a purple marker.

_“Putnam St., St. Antoine, East Hancock, Martin Luther King Boulevard.”_

“Those are all in the Cass Corridor,” Spencer noted. “Do you have a list of what else he stole?”

_“Uh, IV tubing, infusion pump, units of o-negative blood, chest tubes, o-silk sutures, Elastoplast.”_

“Garcia, thanks a lot.”

“ _Toodles! P.G. out.”_ Penelope blinked away.

“So, what’s he doing with all that equipment?” Piper asked Spencer.

“He could be performing experiments or surgeries on his victims.” His voice was hollow, and Piper’s face contorted with disgust. “The choice of items is extremely specific; he’s got to have a medical background.”

The implications of an unsub with a medical background weren’t lost on anyone and Hotch simply looked at Bedwell, telling him they were ready to deliver the profile.

The team stood separately in front of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, with Piper and Hotch sitting at the large table and Spencer standing behind her. Rossi and JJ stood on the other side of the table while Emily and Derek delivered the profile to Detroit PD over in Michigan.

“We believe the man we’re looking for is a sexual sadist,” Hotch started. “What this means is that for him, the torture becomes a substitute for the sex act.” Spencer took over.

“The fact that he’s stealing medical equipment like sterilizing agents and anaesthesia tells us he may be performing experiments or surgeries on his victims.”

“We believe this unsub gets gratification from his ability to keep his victims alive in order to endure more torture,” Piper continued. “The choice of items stolen is extremely specific, which makes us believe he’s got a medical background.”

“Now, we know what you’re thinking– a profile is fine, but, yes, our best shot at stopping this guy is still to catch him in the act. This unsub is extremely smart and obviously organized. He’s managed to abduct very different victims with very different abilities, all with no witnesses.”

“Now, we’re coordinating with the police and our agents on the ground in Detroit,” Hotch informed them.

“We’ve also asked Sergeant Hightower to act as a guide on the streets in Detroit while he’s in our custody,” Rossi concluded.

“That’s it. Any questions, you find me or one of the agents.” While the officers dispersed, William and Hotch left for the SUV to head back to Detroit. The others opted to stay behind to take care of complications in Canada.

“We know he’s about to abduct someone again,” Rossi announced as Piper handed him and Spencer cups of coffee. “We know he sticks to a tight cycle. The question is, why alternate victims in clusters of men and women?

“Why take the men at all?” JJ asked as she gratefully accepted the cup.

“What do you mean?” Piper asked.

“We said he sees these people as disposable. It doesn’t matter if they’re male or female.”

“For a sexual sadist, male or female isn’t important. The torture itself is sex.”

“But wouldn’t it be _much_ easier to approach a prostitute?”

“She’s right,” Piper nodded. “A prostitute will get into a car with an unsub. Much easier to isolate her and no witness would question it either. It’s the males that are hard to coax into a car.”

“We need to figure out how he’s separating his male victims from the pack,” Rossi murmured. “Is Mrs Hightower still here?” He asked Bedwell.

“Resting in my office.”

“JJ and Piper, you two talk to her; we need to know everything about Lee Hightower.” They nodded and walked over to her office. This was almost second nature to Piper, sitting in an armchair with a cup of coffee and Mrs Hightower sitting in front of her. All that was missing was a notebook and pen. JJ sat next to the woman, a comforting hand wrapping hers.

“Lee disappeared, I begged William to find her, but it wasn’t fair to him.”

“I’m sure he wanted to find her as much as you did,” JJ said softly.

“Ma’am, what happened after he came back from Iraq?” Piper lay the question in front of her gently.

“He’d just gotten home,” she mourned. “He lost his leg, and he was going to physical therapy. He hadn’t even processed what happened to him yet. But he found her. First time. She came home for 2 weeks and I had her going to meetings. I even got her onto welfare.”

“So, what happened?” JJ asked.

“The day after the first check came, she disappeared.”

“Wait, what was that date?” JJ asked.

“The 2nd?” JJ nodded to Piper and she left to update Rossi while JJ stayed behind, consoling Mrs Hightower.

“Lee Hightower was abducted on the 2nd, the day after she cashed a welfare check.” Her voice was clear, succinct and rapid. _She’s panicking,_ Spencer noted as she tried to even out her heavy breaths.

“So?” Rossi looked up as Piper leaned over the desk for the marker before scribbling the abduction dates on the board.

“Look at the dates of the other abductions. All the men are abducted around the first and the 15th of the month. When welfare checks are issued. I’m an idiot,” she murmured, cursing herself for not seeing it sooner.

“Piper, what do you mean?”

“What if he’s not intentionally clustering the male and female victims? What if this is how he best isolates his victims?”

“You think he has a way to get them alone based on how they cash their checks?” Rossi asked.

“And then the rest of the month he resorts to picking up prostitutes,” Piper finished.

“It would explain the pattern,” Spencer supplied.

 _“_ We need to find out where these men cash their checks,”Rossi said as Spencer dialled Morgan.

 _“_ We don’t have last names. There’s no way to find them,” Bedwell contradicted.

“Don’t underestimate our tech analyst,” Rossi warned as he dialled her. “Garcia. I need you to find out if Lee Hightower ever cashed a welfare check.”

_“Okay. I’m typing my fastest…Ha! Greyburn Lodge, 43608 Third Street. Lee Hightower cashed her check there on the 2nd.”_

“Morgan’s on his way there,” Spencer updated. Piper capped and uncapped her marker in worry as Spencer thanked Morgan before addressing the team. “There’s been a new victim, Kelly Shane. Abducted in a dark American sedan.” Bedwell practically leapt out of his seat to get his officers on the search. The rest of the team scrambled to get to work, but even after an hour had passed, they heard nothing. Piper slumped in her seat next to Spencer.

“They should have tried to make the cross at least an hour ago,” Spencer thought aloud as Rossi walked back in.

“Any word from the off-road sites?”

“There are agents at every known drug smuggling entry. Nothing.”

“This unsub’s smart. Everything about his plan is well researched. I think his border crossings would be consistent.” Rossi turned to Bedwell. “Are there former shipping lanes somebody could have studied in advance?”

“Nothing marked. Hunters might know the terrain, but it’s word of mouth. Nothing documented.”

“The exhibition,” Piper murmured.

“Pipes, I don’t think—”

“No, the exhibition I told you about on the jet— did we check the underground railway?”

“What?” Rossi looked between Spencer and Bedwell, but they looked equally confused.

“Harriet Tubman, American hero, the badass black woman who freed slaves during the— never mind. In the civil war, Detroit was the last stop for a slave before they escaped to freedom in Canada. They made the crossing in this area.” She jabbed at the woods right next to the crossing.

“She’s right. But there aren’t any historical landmarks that register the crossing points,” Spencer added.

“They didn’t have them in the civil war either,” Piper explained. “They built a series of Victorian homes along the river to signify safe passage. Some of those homes still exist.”

“Lee Hightower’s cell phone registered at a tower near Port Huron,” Rossi remembered. “He had to be close by when he crossed the border.” Piper grabbed her cell, dialling Penelope.

“Garcia, I need you to cross-reference Civil War maps with Victorian homes that still exist in the Port Huron area.”

_“Give me a minute and… done. 3 miles south of the Blue Water Bridge. Sending you a GPS map right…now.”_

“Garcia, you gorgeous human bean, I love you.” Piper slipped her phone into her pocket. “We need to go, now. Blue Water Bridge.”

“That’s not more than a few miles from here.” He turned but then faltered. “JJ said someone needed a bike. Didn’t know you rode, Dave.”

“He doesn’t. That would be me.” Piper raised her hand, her mouth drawing into a line as Spencer snickered next to her. Bedwell blushed, tossing her a helmet and keys. “Thanks.”

As they rushed their way down, Bedwell tried to make amends. “What do you ride?”

“Yamaha R1, black.” She grinned at the dumbstruck officer-in-charge as she strapped on her helmet over her Bluetooth. “Garcia, I’m gonna need directions. You ready?” In the SUV, Spencer updated Hotch on the newest location and that they’d meet Piper there in about 10 minutes while they’d supervise the border cross. Piper skidded to a stop next to the grass and heard an SUV roll up behind her as she unstrapped her helmet.

“Garcia’s sure this is the spot?” Emily approached Piper, wading through long grass.

“The house is inland.” Piper pointed across the river. “Access from the water would be here.”

“There’s nothing here,” Emily motioned to the dark expanse in front of them.

“Really? Hadn’t noticed,” Piper scoffed as Hotch and William came back outside.

“I’d have stashed the car somewhere,” Hotch thought aloud as he examined their surroundings. “We’ll split up,” he directed, passing Piper an extra torch. Piper and Emily took the west while Hotch and William took the east. Emily shone her torch at large brambles of vegetation and called the boys over. They ducked underneath as Hotch and William approached. “License plate is missing. He probably stashed cars on both sides of the river.” Hotch dialled Garcia, asking her to track down a VIN number while letting Emily read the number out to her.

_“Your sick bastard of the week is… a Mr Mason Turner. Age 39, went to undergrad in Toronto, graduated second in his class from Michigan Medical Institute 2000, went on to work for a public health organization in Detroit. I also have an address. Looks like a farm. Sending it…now.”_

“Alright, good work Garcia.” Hotch motioned for Piper to update the others and she dialled Spencer, walking away from the brambled bushes.

“ _Hey, you okay?”_ Piper’s heart melted at the concern filtering through the receiver.

“Yeah, we’re fine. We found his car and an address that Hotch is sending to Rossi as we speak.”

“ _Okay. Pipes, are you sure you’re okay?”_

“Spence, we talked about this. Not at work. I’ll see you soon...and I’m okay. I’m the king of okay.”

 _“That’s a rubbish title. Be safe.”_ The line clicked and Piper pocketed the phone, smiling slightly.

“They’ll be here in 10,” she announced. “We should get moving.”

“Emily, go with Piper,” Hotch directed. “I want the two of you there first just in case.” They set off after Hotch threw them FBI vests and mics, Piper and Emily arriving first on the scene. Emily helped Piper with her vest while she tied her hair up and popped the mic into her ear. Emily unhooked her leg from the bike first, Piper following, as they both unholstered their guns. Two dark SUVs pulled up behind them, the rest of their team filing out.

“Strategy?” Piper called out to Hotch. He directed Bishop, Prentiss, Rossi and Bedwell to take the exterior while Reid, Morgan and Hotch took the house. While the others skirted around the house silently, the three agents slowly entered the house, guns at the ready. Hotch, Reid and Morgan filed into the house slowly, hearing slow, laboured breathing from inside. Prentiss and Piper barged into the barn, the sight filling unease into their nerves.

“Piper,” Emily called out, pointing her torch and bottles of clear and blue liquid.

“Must be all the medical equipment he stole.”

“We’re in the right place.” But their grim smiles dropped, and Piper felt like her stomach was doing backflips at the sight of spilt blood all over the table.

Meanwhile, the others slowly climbed up the creaky steps into the other room, laying their eyes on the source of the laboured breathing. Spencer’s eyes fell on the pale man in the bed, wrapped in a medical gown, tubes protruding from every cavity and a breathing apparatus strapped to his mouth.

“This is our unsub?”


	2. And Back...

Piper felt sick at the sight of the blood. But that was nothing compared to the shoes. In the dark, it was hard to see inside the garbage bin next to the pigsty, but the smell of rotting blood was inescapable, and she swallowed hard to stop the bile from rising up her throat. She couldn’t move until she found herself being pulled away gently by Spencer. She barely heard him ask her if she was okay, barely felt his arms around her. “The shoes,” she whispered. _Not now._ Spencer heard her shakily breathe against his chest and reluctantly he let her go. He expected her to break down, to start crying or yelling or just sprinting for her bike. But what she did was worse. She cleared her throat and spoke with a measured tone. “We’ve got work to do.” He just stood there for a minute as Piper moved past him to the others gathering around the large dumpster filled to the brim with rotten, blood-soaked shoes. “How many?”

“Looks like a hundred.”

“They all belong to the victims?” Bedwell asked, slightly breathless, sounding like the air had been kicked out of his lungs.

“Possibly.”

“Why just the shoes? Where are the bodies?”

“I don’t think there’s going to be any bodies.” They turned to Spencer behind them, staring at the pigs. “Pigs are omnivores. They’ll eat anything.” He looked back at his team. “By anything, I mean… Anything.”

“I think I’m gonna be sick. Hotch…”

“Go tell William what happened.” Piper nodded gratefully and jogged over to the SUVs. She uncuffed William and he turned to meet Piper’s fleeting eyes.

“What happened? Did you find Lee?”

“William, she’s gone. They killed her,” she said gently, watching tears well up.

“No…”

“I’m sorry, William.”

“How… how long—”

“2, maybe 3 days.”

“Can I see her?”

“William, take a seat, please.” Piper gulped. “There aren’t any bodies. Just…” She took a deep breath. “Do you know what kind of shoes your sister was wearing?” William sobbed, leaning his head into Piper’s shoulder as she rubbed circles on his back. They stayed like that for 10, maybe 15 minutes until he sobered. Piper squeezed his shoulder. “I’m sorry, William.” Piper squeezed his shoulder before grabbing a few bottles from the front of the car. As she approached the team, she threw a bottle to Derek half-heartedly before opening her own, drinking about a quarter of it down. “You find anyone in the house?”

“Mason Turner,” Hotch answered.

“Is he in custody?”

“Uh, not exactly,” he replied.

“But he’s not going anywhere,” Rossi added.

“He’s quadriplegic,” Derek explained.

“Paralysed from the neck down,” Spencer scoffed.

“JJ and Prentiss are in there with him right now,” Hotch informed and Piper nodded, taking the information in.

“Well, that’s a pretty good criminal defence.”

“I’ll go talk to him,” Rossi announced before leaving for the house.

“Morgan, do you have the contact number for the Detroit detective?”

“Benning? Yeah.”

“We’re gonna need their open missing cases so we can make identifications on this property.”

“Right,” Derek walked off, pulling out his cell.

“I think that the laptop is his sole communications device which means data files on hard drives, records. Bishop, will you let Bedwell know we’re going to need a warrant.” Piper nodded, shuffling off with her bottle.

 _“BAU Tech Centre, where you should definitely pay attention to the girl behind the curtain.”_ Hotch almost smiled at the optimism embedded in her voice, but it faded with the realisation of what kind of hellhole he was bringing her into.

“Garcia, I need you in Ontario ASAP at the farmhouse that the unsub’s car was registered to.”

_“Yes, sir. What should I bring?”_

“We need forensic recovery from a laptop. I’ll tell you more when you get here. I don’t want this over the phone. And the next flight, Garcia.”

“Ok. On my way.” He turned the cell off.

“Reid, how long do you think it would take?”

“To get a warrant?”

“No. For the pigs to…” He couldn’t even say it.

“Depending on the size and condition of the body when it’s placed in the pen, it wouldn’t be quick. Why?”

“That means Kelly wasn’t put in there. She’s still here somewhere.” He gazed around the compound, eyes falling onto his team members returning.

“Benning’s on her way. She’ll be here by morning,” Derek updated. “Court will most likely have the warrant ready by then.”

“Good. Garcia arrives in Toronto at the same time. JJ, have an SUV arranged to pick her up.”

“Sir, when this hits the press, families of missings are gonna come rushing out here. I’m gonna need some uniformed officers to assist me.” Bedwell promised to help her with that before updating them about the search-and-rescue units and emergency response team.

“Morgan, I want you to supervise the evidence collection. I don’t think the techs have seen a scene like this before.”

“Has anyone?” Emily scoffed.

“We have a picture,” Rossi announced as he marched down from the house. “This is Lucas Turner, Mason’s brother. According to Mason, he’s the unsub. Mason claims he’s a victim himself.”

“Does Mason know where Lucas would take the girl?”

“Claims he has no idea.”

“Right. Bishop, Reid, Lucas is your assignment. I want to know everything about him from height to mental state. Find his room, his things, anything that might tell us where he would go.”

“We’re on it,” Spencer confirmed, and they were about to walk away when Rossi called them back.

“One more thing. Mason warned me that his brother is extremely psychotic. Says he won’t go down without a fight.” Piper nodded and the two doctors moved towards the barn. “Prentiss have JJ get the picture and the description out to the press. When they get here, put them to work for us. Somebody’s gonna notice a man that big.”

“You got it.” The team dispersed again to their various fields of expertise. Spencer and Piper worked in overdrive, downing multiple cups of coffee as they examined the house, room by room. As midnight approached, they took shifts until they couldn’t come up with anything. At about 2 in the morning, Spencer’s eyes flickered open as he recognised Piper standing in the balcony. He noticed the slight breeze blowing through her hair and he padded over with his mismatched socks. He followed her gaze to the woods beyond the property line before looking back into her eyes, catching a tear before it fell.

“Careful. Those things are precious.” A small smile broke over her tear-streaked face. “Come here.” She buried herself into his soft cardigan, breathing in the scent of new books and smoked wood. For the first time all day, she let her dam break, sobbing freely. “I know, Pipes.” He expected her to be terrified, or angry, or cry even harder, but instead, she interwove her fingers in his hand, pulling him to the railing.

“How are you doing?” she asked, meeting his eyes.

“I’m okay. I’m the king of okay.”

“Rubbish title.” Spencer breathed out a laugh. “Seriously, Spence. Aren’t you mad or upset?”

“I am. But I can’t get emotional. None of us can.” Piper nodded. "Not until this is over."

“Can we talk about something else?”

“Like what?”

“I dunno. Anything.”

“Okay. When we get back, where should we go for dinner?” Piper smiled.

“One-track mind, you’ve got.”

“It has been said that I have a laser focus.” Piper kissed him softly, her free hand gently playing with his hair.

“Anywhere you want to go. Except for Chinese. We order too much Chinese food.”

“Right. Not because I can’t use chopsticks.” She smiled. “Sushi?” Piper shook her head vehemently. “You don’t like sushi?”

“Lucy had them once, puked it all back out in the car. As punishment, my dad took the long way home and we were stuck in the back with the stench of—”

“Okay, okay. I get it.” Piper chuckled, turning her gaze back to the woods.

“I always wanted to come to Canada.”

“Yeah?”

“Mhmm. It had everything I loved as a kid. Pancakes, snow, the woods, the mooses.”

“You mean the moose.” Piper raised an eyebrow at him. “It’s actually— never mind. Mooses.” Piper’s smile faded and she pulled on Spencer’s arm.

“It’s actually what?” He chuckled. “Tell me. What is it?”

“Well, the word ‘moose’ is a derivative of Algonquian, a Native American language. It keeps the same plural ending it has in its original language instead of adopting the normal 'S' ending of most English plurals. So, it’s the moose.” Piper beamed at him.

“So, like sheep.”

“Yeah, exactly like sheep.” He chuckled and she whacked him gently with her arm.

“Don’t make fun of me.”

“I’m not. It’s just…” Piper straightened, looking straight into his dark eyes. “You listen to me. Not like the others.” Piper nodded. “Elle would’ve chucked her shoe at me if I corrected her.”

“Elle?”

“SSA Elle Greenaway. Stopped working here just before you did.”

“Mmm? What happened? Why’d she leave?”

“She got injured, shot in her own home. She did everything right, but one day she just…snapped I guess.”

“So, where’s she now?”

“Somewhere tropical, I’d imagine. Barbados, Hawaii, I dunno.”

“I’m sorry,” she mumbled

“For what?”

“I’m sorry you lost her,” she breathed, leaning her head on his arm. "What was she like?"

"Amazing. She was like this storm of justice, raining hellfire on every criminal in her path." He paused. "She was like a sister to me."

"She sounds...awesome," Piper said sadly. "It must have taken a lot to crack her."

"She fought to the last day she was at the BAU. At some point, it became too much. She left." He shrugged, as though it was a matter of fact. Everyone left. The BAU was a tough gig, hard to handle alone for too long. But maybe he could make it. After all, he wasn't alone anymore.

"Have you ever thought about it?"

"What? Leaving?" Piper nodded. "Yeah, a few times. After Hankel...I thought about it." Piper got up.

"That's why you blew off Galveston?" She shoved him playfully. "I called you like 4 times." Spencer held up his hands in surrender and Piper's smile melted as she took his hands in hers. "I'm sorry I wasn't there for you. If it helps," Piper looked at the barn, "I was thinking about it too. Then after you almost died of anthrax, I didn't know if I could..." Piper sighed, closing her eyes. "It scared me. And if something happened to you, I don't think I could bear it." Spencer stared at her, eyes still closed as the wind made her hair fly. Gently, as though she would break, he kissed her forehead.

"This job wouldn't be the same without you." He paused. "I wouldn't be the same without you." She finally opened her eyes at his revelation.

"Spence," she breathed before reaching up on tiptoes to kiss him softly. She'd meant for it to be a quick, comforting kiss, except before she knew it, Spencer had pushed her against an inner wall, obscuring any view from the balcony. His hand cupped her jawline, fingers tangled in her hair, pulling at her bottom lip before trailing kisses down her neck. Piper's nails dragged along his back as she moaned softly, feeling his warmth in the cold. She pulled him back up to kiss him, her hand soft against the nape of his neck. Too soon, he pulled away, breathless as their noses touched, eyes still cold, fingers still tangled in her hair. This was where he belonged. He could smell her faint smell of lavender. They stayed there for an eternity, noses bumping each other, smiling softly as Piper gazed into his deep brown eyes, neither wanting to shatter this perfect moment. But shatter it did, as they sprung apart at the sound of someone stumbling outside the door. Piper's hypervigilance kicked in as she unholstered her gun, motioning silently for Spencer to open the door. She inched forward, sidestepping to gain a better aim. The door swung open just as Spencer went to reach for the doorknob and Piper was about to yell when she recognised the man behind the door.

"Don't shoot!" Piper sighed, holstering her gun.

"It's only Derek," she announced and Spencer appeared from behind the door, rubbing his nose.

"You hit me." Piper resisted the urge to laugh.

"Well, why'd you hit Spencer?" 

"I didn't mean to," Derek managed between chuckles. "Hotch just wanted me to check up on you before we hit the sack. Also, he wanted me to ask if you two were fine to double up." Piper shrugged.

"I don't mind. And we haven't found much. Figured we'd look again with fresh eyes in the morning." Derek nodded somberly.

"The sooner we get out of here, the better. Alright, I'm gonna go get some sleep." Derek left, wishing them good night and Spencer closed the door behind his best friend before turning around to his chuckling girlfriend. _Girlfriend_. The thought still made him feel giddy.

"Are you okay?" she asked, walking over to him.

"No," he pouted. "My nose hurts." Piper pretended to give it some thought before reaching for his hands and brushing her lips against his knuckles, her eyes never leaving him and a light blush rose in his cheeks.

"Is that better?" Spencer just shook his head and Piper's mouth folded into a line. She held his hand up again, pressing a soft kiss to the inside of his wrist.

"How's that?"

"It helps, but it still hurts." Piper nodded grimly and let go abruptly, only to pull him closer by his belt to trail her tongue on his neck, blowing softly, pleased at the soft moan slipping from his lips.

"Still hurts?" Spencer failed to mask his grin as he nodded and Piper moved to his earlobe, sucking gently, not hard enough to mark him, but just enough to elicit a small groan from his throat, pausing to whisper in his ear as her fingers tangled in the tips of his hair.

"What about now?"

"Could be better," he managed, swallowing hard as she grazed her teeth along his jawline, pausing just above his lips.

"And now?"

"Still a little twinge." Piper tilted her head, smiling at him, then pressing a swift kiss on his nose as she tugged on his collar before going over to flop on the couch. Spencer just stood there, mostly in shock. "Oh, you're gonna pay for that," he said before he lunged at her, hands tickling her sides and she converged in on herself, turning into a ball of laughter.

"Stop, stop, please," she gasped. "Mercy, Spence, please." He released her before diving in for a small kiss. They fell asleep like that, Piper's arm slung across the armrest, Spencer's head resting in her lap, her fingers tangled in his hair, her head resting on her elbow.

In the morning, JJ handled the press and families, directing them towards different stations regarding what information they needed and what information they had to give. She’d prepared a statement to give to the press that night and gratefully accepted a cup of coffee from Rossi. Emily managed to find a pair of unclean overalls and flew down the stairs to find the search-and-rescue unit, her FBI windbreaker billowing out behind her. Derek walked over to the CSI teams who methodically set out 89 pairs of shoes ruined by blood and grime, gazing over at William who sat by the hay bales outside the barn, staring at his sister’s graduation picture. Piper and Spencer walked down from the house to find Hotch. “Mason says his brother sometimes sleeps on the couch in the living room or disappears for days at a time,” Spencer explained.

“He doesn’t have a room?” Hotch’s eyes narrowed in thought.

“Not according to Mason,” Piper scoffed.

“Keep looking around. They’ve lived here their whole lives. There’s got to be something here that gives us an idea of who he is.” They nodded, walking over to the barn. Piper tossed him a pair of surgical gloves which he pulled on. Piper felt sick as her gaze fell on the sheer number of tools in the barn.

“Despite the blood dripping from every cavity in here, he’s kept the place neat,” Spencer noted.

“That fits, we profiled them to be organised.”

“No, this isn’t the same. He keeps each tool exactly where it’s meant to be, but doesn’t mop up the blood?” He looked back at Piper. “Mason said he was practically terrified of him, but this says the opposite.”

“He’s methodical in terms of killing but messy when it comes to cleaning up. And who needs 4 different saws?” Piper pointed to the 3 handsaws on the wall and the electric saw on the workspace.

“Piper.” She looked around and followed Spencer’s gaze to the roof. “Is that laundry?”

“Huh. Guess John Flanagan was right. People never really look up do they?”

“Who?”

“Ranger’s Apprentice. Practically devoured them as a kid. People don’t look up because they rarely perceive any kind of threat looming from the sky. Usually, they’ll look behind instinctively.” Spencer nodded as they climbed up to the rafters. He held out a hand for her as she climbed up the ladder.

“Watch your head.” Piper smiled as she grabbed his hand and climbed up. “Well, this is paradise.”

“Dr Reid, I do believe that was a joke,” Piper laughed, kissing him quickly on the cheek as he pouted.

“Caged rats, so, he had a warped sense of domesticated animals.”

“Or they were the only living beings that weren’t disgusted by him,” Piper murmured. “Look at these. Crayon drawings. Recent too.” Piper caught Spencer’s bemused gaze. “Lucas is what, almost the same age as us, maybe older. Kids grow out of drawings like these by about 8-9 years. Also, crayon fades over time.”

“Pinning it up suggests he didn’t have a parental figure who pinned them up for him.”

“You should’ve seen our fridge when Danny was growing up.” Spencer moved over to the bed while Piper kept murmuring things. “The barn doesn’t have a bell tower.” She pulled a picture down from where it was hung. And that eye looks distinctly like Big Brother.”

“1984?” Spencer peered over. “Huh. Made sense in the book. Aryan ideology dictated that blue eyes were ideal for superior Germans.”

“Why do I get the feeling that he doesn’t know that?” She looked up at Spencer. “Did you catch Mason’s eye colour?” Spencer shook his head and Piper dialled Rossi. “Yeah, Rossi, you with Mason? What’s his eye colour?” She thanked him and slipped the cell back in her pocket. “Baby blues.” Spencer raised his eyebrows.

“So, he feels paranoid?”

“Sort of. He feels like he’s being watched by his brother. Could be in a protective way or a more perverted way that I really don’t want to think about.”

“Reid? Bishop? You two in here?” Hotch’s voice floated from below and he saw Spencer’s face pop out from the rafters.

“Hey, we found out where he sleeps.”

“So, Mason was lying?”

“I find it hard to believe he didn’t know his brother was living in the barn.”

“Anything up there that’s gonna help us find him?” Piper’s face popped up next to Spencer’s.

“I think he’s got some sort of neurodevelopmental disorder. There’s a collection of drawings up here that suggest autism or moderate mental retardation.”

“Now, retardation and psychosis in the exact same subject are exceedingly rare,” Spencer added. “It’s more likely he doesn’t fully understand the acts that he’s committed.”

“Anything to suggest a violent nature?”

“Nothing in the drawings," Piper replied. "They do suggest someone’s been watching him. Hotch, this guy is most likely the gentle giant types.”

“Like the BFG?”

“Yeah, exactly.” Piper scoffed at the reference. “He’s going to be very childlike, scared, probably confused. He’s extremely dependent on his brother and despite his size, he’s probably going to be submissive.”

“You think he’ll fight?”

“Think about it this way. If Jack threw a tantrum, what would he do?”

“I don’t know. Throw things around, cry maybe.”

“Exactly the same with this guy. It could involve spectacular explosions of anger, frustration and disorganised behaviour as a result of being unable to cope with extremely stressful situations. You gotta approach the guy calmly, as though you’re talking to a child.” He nodded and turned, about to leave the barn when Spencer called out.

“Hey, Hotch. Do you ever get the feeling that a case isn’t going to end well?”

“Reid, keep looking. This girl needs us.” Piper watched him sigh and turn back around.

“Spence, are you up for this?” He nodded and Piper rubbed his arm gently. “Let’s revisit their M.O. Mason’s clearly the dominant one in the team, but he’s a quadriplegic. How does Lucas know what to do?”

“Doing it 89 times probably did the trick,” he scoffed. Before Piper could comfort him, he moved to the other side. “But it’s different this time.”

“How so?”

“Mason doesn’t have any way to communicate with him. Where does he go?”

“Alright. You’re a child, you can’t go home so where…” Piper’s gaze fell onto the woods.

“I know that look. What are you thinking?”

“After my mom… There were some really bad days. Anniversary dates, stuff like that. Dad would always be infinitely worse on those days, especially on Lucy.”

“What are you saying?”

“I’m saying there weren’t a lot of safe hiding places from a city detective. So, when Daniel and I were old enough, we went to this debilitated shack on the beach. No-one went near it, like ever. We bought tons of little things with our pocket money, anything to make it comfortable. Little fairy light, pillows, anything.”

“You’re saying he has a safe haven.” Piper nodded. “Somewhere no-one would go. You’re a genius.” Spencer grabbed her forehead, kissing it before he sprinted downstairs. “I’m gonna go tell Hotch,” he yelled, and Piper felt giddy for a small moment until she collapsed onto the mattress, gazing at the rats in their cages.

Meanwhile, Morgan and Prentiss took the woods with the search and rescue units, following the sniffer dogs. “You’ve been with this team what, 2 years, right?”

“Almost 3 already,” Emily answered, unsure of where Morgan was going with this.

“It’s 7 for me. I mean, that’s all I’ve been thinking about all day… is the entire time I’ve been with the BAU, working almost nonstop, having no real life, these brothers have been out here killing 89 people and we didn’t even know about it.”

“Well, we know now. And we’ll make them pay.”

“But how many others are still out there, Prentiss,” he hummed, “hunting and killing? I mean, the thing is, no matter what we do, no matter how hard we work, no matter how good we are at what we do, this is never gonna end.” Emily and Derek came upon the stream and Emily groaned, worried that that they would lose the scent.

Back at the house, Penelope hummed Metallica as she cracked through Mason Turner’s safeguards. “Ha!” she exclaimed as he broke through the firewall, but the enthusiasm faded as she realised what she was looking at. She gripped the laptop, her heels clicking down the staircase to where Rossi, Reid and Bishop were standing.

“Pen, are you okay?” Piper rushed over, wiping away her tears. “What’d you find?”

“He’s…He’s been doing experiments.”

“Unsuccessful ones,” Mason interjected.

“For once in your life, just shut up and pretend you’re a decent person,” Piper snarled, trying to soothe Penelope.

“He tried to fix himself.” Penelope’s voice was hollow, finding no comfort in her friend’s attempts.

“Would it be better if it was all for nothing?” Mason’s voice was apathetic.

“They were human beings,” Rossi snapped.

“They were transients and drug users and prostitutes. They were useless to society. I gave them the chance to be part of a cure. To be of use.”

“Ohh, I’m about to break his face right now.” Spencer pulled Piper back and away from Mason.

“That’s science.”

“No, it isn’t,” Spencer turned and spat at him, loosening his grip on Piper.

“So, you got some information off my laptop. So what?” Mason’s voice gained confidence. “What jury’s gonna believe I had the power to kill anyone? I haven’t been able to move from the neck down for 7 years. Even if you could convict me of something… What punishment could be worse than the life I already lead? Find my idiot brother. Exact your pound of flesh and leave me the hell alone.”

“Sir,” Piper voiced, gritting her teeth, her eyes hardening. “Permission to kick his ass so hard that his vertebrae pop out of his mouth like a Pez dispenser?”

“Despite my every heartfelt desire,” Rossi sighed. “Permission denied.” Piper took Penelope’s hands and led her upstairs and Spencer followed them up, watching Penelope sob into Piper’s shoulder. Piper mouthed for Spencer to leave them for a minute. 

He walked outside to find Rossi standing on the front porch with Hotch. “They were doing experiments,” Rossi sighed.

“Spinal regeneration,” Spencer explained. “He was definitely trying to fix himself with stem cell harvesting but the equipment’s far too unsophisticated. There’s no way it would have ever worked.”

“They would have kept trying.” Rossi inhaled deeply. “You were a prosecutor, Hotch. Could you convict this guy, a quadriplegic who clearly never touched any of the victims?”

“I don’t know. We need to concentrate on Kelly. We can’t worry about the other stuff right now.” Hotch walked away from the group to keep an eye on the evidence collection.

“He might actually get away with this,” Rossi told Reid, shaking his head as he started trudging back up to the house, oblivious to William by the side of the house.

“Oh, Rossi, wait up.” He turned around to see Reid. “Piper thought they might have a safe haven in the woods, probably from when they were kids.”

“He’s too smart to tell us that. We’re gonna have to try and track his phone.” Inside another room in the house, Penelope had managed to sober herself, trying to get back to work, Piper holding her the entire time.

“How’s it going?” Piper’s voice was soft but Penelope’s had hardened in reply.

“Just waiting for—” Garcia gasped at the blinking on her screen. “Oh, my god. The phone just turned back on.”

“What?”

“Lucas’s phone, it just turned back on.” Penelope held out the phone to Piper as she started her trap-and-trace program.

_“Hello? Hello? My name is Kelly.”_

“Kelly, this is Dr Piper Bishop. I’m with the FBI.”

 _“Oh, my god, you have to help me. I’m somewhere in the woods being held by a man named Lucas, and he…”_ Static poured over the line.

“Kel— Kelly?”

 _“And he’s–oh, my god! Help me! Oh, my god! Please—”_ The line cut off.

“Garcia, tell me you got something.”

“Yes. I’m hooked into the system. I should be able to— Got it. It’s just west of here, less than half a mile.” Piper leapt up out her seat, grabbing a spare Kevlar vest and a mic.

“Get the coordinates to my GPS and let Morgan and Prentiss know in the field. I’ll get Hotch and Rossi.” Piper kissed Penelope’s forehead briefly before sprinting down the steps, out the porch, yelling out the developments as she sprinted. In the woods, Piper followed the coordinates down a little hill. “It should be right here,” she said, turning to the rest of her team.

“There’s nothing here, Bishop,” Hotch cried, anger seeping into his voice and she passed him the GPS.

“There’s nothing here,” Piper started as she closed her eyes, tapping her foot against the ground as she walked, “because the point of a secret haven is that it can’t be…” Her foot tapped against something hard. _Not soil._ She swiped the leaves and soil aside with her foot, revealing a large wooden square in the ground with a handle. “Found.”

“What’s our strategy going in?” Rossi asked Hotch.

“Let me go in first,” Piper volunteered, holstering her gun.

“No. Absolutely not,” Spencer came up behind her. “That’s ridiculous.”

“Is it that ridiculous, Reid? I’m the one with the most experience. Have any of you dealt with adults suffering from mental retardation? Or kids with autism?”

“It’s too risky,” he hissed. “And they’re usually not deranged killers.”

“He’s not one either. You said it yourself, he’s scared, confused and probably doesn’t realise what he’s done.”

“I won’t have your compassion get you killed, Bishop.” Emily looked at Derek as they kept fighting. Derek merely shrugged.

“She’s right,” Hotch said quietly. “Bishop takes the lead, Rossi, I want you in right behind her.” They nodded, Spencer fuming behind Emily and Morgan. Derek lifted the handle and Piper lowered herself slowly through the opening.

“Hi Lucas,” Piper started, palms held forward as she walked closer. “I’m Piper. This is a nice place you got here. Cosy,” she smiled, ignoring the upturned bottles and fallen over boxes. “I’m a friend of Kelly’s. Isn’t that right?” Kelly nodded aggressively.

“Friend,” Lucas mumbled, scratching the back of his head.

“Yeah. Friend. Lucas, Mason misses you.”

“Ma— Mason?”

“Yeah. Your brother wants you to come home. Would you like to go home, Lucas?” He nodded slowly and Piper held out her hand for him. She ignored the sweat on his large, grimy hands. “Let’s go home.” She led him slowly out to the sunlight, climbing up after him. “Hey, Lucas. Before we go home, Mason wanted me to give you something.”

“What is it?”

“It’s a surprise,” Piper said, forcing a smile. “But you have to do something for me first. Can you close your eyes?” He obliged her, bouncing and repeating ‘gift’. “Can you put your right hand up?” He obliged again. “Great job. And your left? Brilliant, Lucas. Now, turn around for me?” Piper’s heart pounded in her chest as she stepped back to let Morgan pull both hands down, slipping cuffs onto him as she stepped back to help Kelly up.

“Piper! Gift,” he yelled out. “I want my gift,” he cried. Sobbing, he was pushed up the hill as Piper handed Kely over to Emily. Rossi clapped Piper on the shoulder.

“You did a good thing, kid. You should be proud of yourself.”

“Then why do I feel like crap?” She made to follow the others as they left the clearing, but Spencer latched a hand around her wrist, pulling her up to him, her hand bracing herself against his chest. “Spence, not—”

“I don’t care.” He pressed a gentle kiss to the back of her hand as Emily glanced over her shoulder, smiling and shoving Derek along. “I’m sorry. I was just—”

“Worried?”

“Yeah, and I didn’t want—”

“Anything to happen to me? Spence, we work in the FBI, dealing with killers. I’m not going to just hang back and watch you all dive headfirst into danger.”

“I know. And I swear, I won’t do it again.” He kissed her forehead softly and she reached up, latching onto his lips sweetly. “We should get back before they suspect,” he murmured before going in for another kiss.

“Really? What happened to Mr I-Don’t-Care?” He smiled into her kiss and they pulled apart. “Besides, we’d be idiots to think our team, the Behavioural Analysis Unit hasn’t figured it out yet. Especially after your little insistence on me staying back.” Spencer grinned sheepishly.

“Ah, we knew they’d figure it out eventually.” Piper grinned and he interlaced his hand with hers as they walked through the woods while the sun set behind them. But that faded as they saw the quiet on the farm, Emily standing outside with JJ, the ambulance carrying Mason Turner, Hotch and Rossi pushing a handcuffed William Hightower to Jeff Bedwell, and Derek helping a crying Penelope to the SUVs. _Where did we go wrong?_

Sometimes there are no words, no clever quotes to neatly sum up what’s happened that day. Sometimes you do everything right, everything exactly right, and still you feel like you’ve failed. Did it need to end that way? Could something have been done to prevent the tragedy in the first place? 89 murders at the pig farm. The death of Mason Turner makes 90 lives snuffed out. Kelly Shane will go home and try to recover, to reconnect with her family, but she’ll never be a child again. William Hightower, who gave his leg for his country, gave the rest of himself to avenge his sister’s murder. That makes 92 lives forever altered, not counting family and friends in a small town in Sarnia, Ontario, who thought monsters didn’t exist until they learned that they spent their lives with one. And what about the team? How many more times will they be able to look into the abyss? How many more times before they won’t ever recover the pieces of themselves that this job takes? Sometimes there are no words, no clever quotes to neatly sum up what’s happened that day.


End file.
